Israel Folau's GoFundMe Campaign Has Been Shut Down

Israel Folau's controversial GoFundMe campaign, asking for $3 million to help pay his legal costs, has been taken down.

GoFundMe said today the campaign had been removed as it violates their "terms of service" and $700,000 raised will be returned to their donors. 

The controversial campaign was launched to help pay Folau's court costs, but has drawn considerable condemnation from the public since it's launch late last week. 

GoFundMe Australia's released the following statement: 

Today we will be closing Israel Folau’s campaign and issuing full refunds to all donors. After a routine period of evaluation, we have concluded that this campaign violates our terms of service. 

As a company, we are absolutely committed to the fight for equality for LGBTIQ+ people and fostering an environment of inclusivity. While we welcome GoFundMes engaging in diverse civil debate, we do not tolerate the promotion of discrimination or exclusion.

In the days since Mr Folau's campaign launched, more than one million dollars have been donated to hundreds of other campaigns, large and small, across Australia. Those acts of kindness are the heart of GoFundMe.

Our platform exists to help people help others. Australians have shown themselves to be among the most kind and generous people in the world. We look forward to helping more Australians fundraise for causes they care about in the coming months and years.

More to come.